Lionblaze has a Shadow

Part 18: The Letter

"Lionblaze, I have a problem and I'd like to talk to you about it," Jayfeather said irritably. Lionblaze nodded his head, not looking up from his computer screen.

"I bought two packs of oatmeal bars yesterday. Their gone, and Hollyleaf swears she didn't eat them."

"So you're accusing me?" Lionblaze mumbled. Jayfeather sighed. "Well, yeah. Lionblaze for crying out loud, I found the empty box in your room."

"Hawkfrost threw those in there," Lionblaze said, obviously lying.

"You're an idiot. You owe me two boxes, and you better get them today," Jayfeather snapped, then left the room. Lionblaze pulled out the last oatmeal bar out of his desk and took a big bite, face red from lying. Lionblaze forced his guilt out of his mind and picked up his phone. He dialed Briarlights number, which he had already memorized.

As usual, she picked up on the last ring.

"Hello?" she said, voice alarmed.

"Uh, hey," Lionblaze said, confused on why she sounded so weird. "I got caught with Jayfeathers oatmeal bars. Want to come to the grocery store with me to pick up some more?"

Briarlight hesitated, and it hurt Lionblazes feelings.

"Look, if you don't want to be with me, then don't freaking be with me," Lionblaze said quietly. Briarlight gasped. "Why would you say that?"

"Because every time I want to do something with you, you make some stupid excuse not to. I can tell that you were trying to make an excuse right then," Lionblaze said.

"It's not that… it's just… I've got a lot going on right now, okay?" Briarlight sounded exasperated.

"Doing what?"

"Working."

"Working with what?" Lionblaze snapped. "You don't have a job."

This made Briarlight stop talking at once. Lionblazes anger was suddenly replaced by confusion. "You don't have a job," he repeated. "So what are you doing?"

"Can we talk about this later?" Briarlight asked desperately. "Please…"

"Fine. Meet me at the grocery store in ten minutes," Lionblaze said cautiously, and then hung up.

What has she been doing?

Lionblaze sat outside the grocery store, chain smoking like crazy. His palms were so sweaty he could barely hold onto his smoke, and he was trembling so much he could barely suck in the toxic fumes. Lionblaze knew he was probably jumping to conclusions, but his gut was telling him something was seriously wrong going on with Briarlight. Lionblaze couldn't help thinking that she was playing trick.

"Hey," Briarlights soft voice shook Lionblaze out of his troubled thoughts. He turned around, and looked at his "girlfriend." To his dismay, her hair was slightly ruffled and her face was red.

"Want to talk?" Briarlight asked. Lionblaze felt like his heart was crumbling. "Yeah," he whispered. "Tell me what you were doing." Lionblaze braced himself to hear that she was a prostitute.

"You see, Lionblaze," Briarlight said sadly. "I never meant to turn down this road, but I had no other choice-"

"BRIARLIGHT!" a voice made Lionblaze jump. He turned around to see Heatherpaw full out sprinting towards them. Lionblaze groaned. "Goddamn Heatherpaw," he hissed. Briarlight just stared wide-eyed at her, her red face turned ashy white.

"Briarlight, I need some more," Heatherpaw stuttered, rubbing her hands together.

"Can't this wait until later?" Briarlight said so quietly Lionblaze nearly didn't hear her. Heatherpaw frantically shook her head. "No, it can't wait," she cried. Lionblaze was starting to get the feeling that Heatherpaw was high on cocaine, her movements were jerky and her eyes bulged so far out of her face that Lionblaze thought they were going to fall out and roll onto the floor.

Wait, why would she be telling Briarlight she needs more cocaine? Lionblaze thought, confused. Why would Briarlight care if –

OH MY GOD.

It hit Lionblaze like a lightning bolt to the face as he realized what Briarlight was doing. He turned to face her, and she met his eyes, scared.

"You're not a prostitute," Lionblaze whispered. Then a smile stretched across his face. "You're not a freaking prostitute!" Lionblaze threw his arms around Briarlight, who was so confused she didn't even hug him back. He broke away from her, and looked her straight in the eyes. "You, terrified me," Lionblaze growled. "I thought you were turning tricks on the street!"

"But… you do realize what I'm doing?" Briarlight cried.

"Yeah!" Lionblaze exclaimed happily. "You're a drug dealer!" Lionblaze hugged Briarlight again, feeling tears well up in his eyes. Briarlight pushed him away. "How are you okay with this?" she cried. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"A little bit," Lionblaze sniffed, tears starting to fall down his face. "I'm just so happy you're not turning tricks. But wait," Lionblaze stared at Briarlight, then at Heatherpaw.

"You don't do drugs, do you?" he asked, scared of what the answer would be. Briarlight shook her head no, a small smile appearing on her face. "I can't believe you're not mad at me," she whispered.

"Well, obviously there will be a discussion later about you not dealing anymore," Lionblaze said sternly. Briarlight gave a half laugh. "I figured."

"But you didn't answer my question," Lionblaze said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I love you," Briarlight whispered. "And I didn't want to hurt you."

Lionblaze felt his heart soar out of his chest. "I love you too," he said, surprised he really meant it. Briarlight smiled sweetly at him, and then grabbed one of his hands. "So let's just be happy right now," she said quietly. Lionblaze felt his heart warm at her touch, and he smiled back. "Let's just be happy," he whispered.

Lionblaze put the oatmeal bars in the cupboard, still feeling happy from earlier.

"Hey Hollyleaf!" he called, making his way into the dining room where his sister was sitting. "You'll never guess what happened with-"he stopped talking as he realized Hollyleaf was crying. "What's wrong?" he asked. Hollyleaf rubbed her eyes and looked up at him.

"Jayfeathers gone," she said glumly. "He left when we were gone…"

Lionblaze was stricken. "What?"

"He left earlier, when I was shopping. He left this for you," Hollyleaf held a folded piece of paper out to Lionblaze. Lionblaze took it, confused. The first sentence made Lionblazes eyes sting with tears.

Lionblaze, if you are reading this, then I'll be gone. Don't worry, I'm not dead… I'm with Cloudtail, and we are in New York. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that we were moving, but it all happened so suddenly. He asked me to marry him, Lionblaze! I can't express how happy I am… We were going to leave in a few weeks, but a spot opened up suddenly, and we took it. It's time for me to start my life, and I couldn't do that down where you live. Please forgive me for not saying goodbye, I promise I'll make it up to you. And hey, maybe you and Hollyleaf can move down here too! I miss you guys so much already, more than you'll ever believe. And I really don't want to sound like a sap, but there's no other way around it. But remember I'm always here for you. You, have a shadow, Lionblaze. Me. I'll always be your best friend, just as you'll always be mine. You can always count on me to stay by your side.

Good luck with everything, Lionblaze… and goodbye

The End

Thank you for reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed it… and for those of you who didn't want it to end, don't worry! There will be a sequel. So next time you're browsing the fanfictions, keep watch for:

Lionblaze stole the Stars